5-Show Subscription to Cutting-Edge Classical Concerts in Town Music Series

Joshua Roman, former principal cellist with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Town Music Artistic Director, has put together an exciting and eclectic lineup for the 2014-15 season, which includes genre-busting groups like the pop-classical NOW Ensemble, new music specialists the Deviant Septet, the "hard-grooving" Third Coast Percussion and more. This five-show subscription package gets you access to all of these cool concerts. Roman, who's been called "a cellist of extraordinary technical and musical gifts" by the San Francisco Chronicle kicks off the action himself, with Lithuanian pianist Andrius Zlabys, on a series of piano quartets by Brahms, Timo Andres and Yevgeniy Sharlat. But you'll hear great compositions from a wide variety of modern composers over the course of the concert series, including John Cage, Esa Pekka Salonen, Derek Bermel and a finale featuring John Adams' contemporary classic Shaker Loops. Please see the full event description for the schedule.

Website

Description

Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2014: Piano Quartets — Brahms, Andres, Sharlat
Extending the collaboration begun in last season’s breathtaking duet concert, Town Music Artistic Director Joshua Roman takes the stage with acclaimed Lithuanian pianist Andrius Zlabys, for an evening of piano quartets — old favorites and possibly, some you’ve never heard. Joining them will be Australian violinist Susie Park and another special guest on the viola. They’ll be performing Yevgeniy Sharlat’s Piano Quartet, Johannes Brahms’ “Quartet in G Minor op. 25, and Timo Andres’ “I Found It By The Sea.” Andres’ piece was composed to pay homage to Brahms’ quartet — Andres’ “benchmark for great chamber music."

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014: NOW Ensemble
NOW Ensemble’s seven-member group is committed to innovative, engaging pieces, with a reputation for performing genre-crossing music. The group’s eclectic performances have been described as “the formal elegance of chamber music with a pop-honed concision and rhythmic vitality” by Time Out New York, and International Concert Review said their music “breathes the air of this planet.” They’ll be performing a piece called “Change” by Judd Greenstein — their in-house composer — Derek Bermel’s “Twin Trio” and other works.

Monday, Jan. 12, 2015: Third Coast Percussion
Called “hard-grooving musicians” by The New York Times, Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion has been recognized for its “superb” (New Yorker) sound, unique take on percussion instrumentation, and integration of new media in performances. This evening, they’ll perform David Little’s “Haunt of Last Nightfall,” which blends pre-recorded heavy metal sounds with live percussion for a “tender, elegiac, dark, and epic” experience. They’ll also perform other Third Coast Percussion favorites, including John Cage’s “Credo in Us.” The group — Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore — is Ensemble-in-Residence at University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015: Deviant Septet
Deviant Septet is not your typical classical music ensemble. By bringing to life the vision of Igor Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du Soldat” ensemble, their goal is to attract modern audiences to this little-known — and nearly nonexistent — combination of instruments. With the tagline of “Music. For your soul.” the group’s vibrant integration of classical and modern makes them, well, “exceedingly fun.” They’ll be performing Stravinsky’s 1918 “L’Histoire du Soldat” (The Soldier’s Tale), Esa-Pekka Salonen’s 2006 response piece “Catch and Release,” and other works which highlight their mix of classical and modern. Specializing in commissioning new work and multimedia performances, Deviant Septet is “led by new music veterans” Bill Kalinkos, Mike Gurfield, Courtney Orlando (a founding member of Alarm Will Sound), Brad Balliett, Doug Balliett and David Nelson.

Saturday, June 27, 2015: John Adams’ Shaker Loops
Composed in 1978, Shaker Loops has been called a “bona fide contemporary classic” by The New York Times_, been highlighted in feature films, and performed worldwide. The concert also features an original work, commissioned by Town Hall from Timo Andres, about whose work The New Yorker_ says “achieves an unhurried grandeur that has rarely been felt in American music since John Adams came on the scene.” Stay tuned for an announcement and more details on the exciting featured performers for this evening!

About the Ticket Supplier: Town Hall Seattle

Town Hall is Seattle's community culture center located in the historic First Hill neighborhood, on the edge of downtown. Town Hall showcases the community's cultural energy with diverse music, arts and humanities, civic discourse, and world culture programming. Housed in an historic Roman-revival-style building on the corner of 8th and Seneca, Town Hall opened in March 1999.